MEMBERS of the House of Representatives majority urged legislators on Wednesday not to participate in hearings on the proposed P6.793-trillion 2026 budget until the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) clears up what they described as “questionable” items in the spending plan.
Political parties making up the House majority called for the return of the proposed budget to the DBM for “corrections” of “erroneous entries” in the National Expenditure Program (NEP), Deputy Speaker and Antipolo Rep. Ronaldo V. Puno said.
He cited the duty of Congress to ensure the national budget is allocated “free of corruption,” adding that House leaders also want to avoid the perception that they are revising the spending plan for their own benefit.
“We are recommending to the Speaker that we return the 2026 National Expenditure Program to the Budget department, and we are asking our members now to refrain from any further participation in any other budget hearings until this matter is resolved,” Mr. Puno said at a briefing.
“The NEP, as submitted, is riddled with questionable entries,” he added, citing the alleged fund diversions, and blank line items that came with the preparation of the 2025 budget.
“There’s been enough and too much distrust already going around,” Mr. Puno said.
Government spending has come under the microscope following the discovery of defective or even non-existent flood control projects in the wake of the heavy rains in July, culminating in the replacement of the Secretary of Public Works, Manuel M. Bonoan.
“In light of the admissions publicly made by department secretaries that there are erroneous entries in the NEP transmitted to the House of Representatives, we would be justified in returning the same,” he added, reading a prepared statement.
The proposal to freeze budget proceedings has raised concerns that the delay will lead to another re-enacted budget, which happens when no budget bill is enacted when the new year begins.
The absence of a budget in place when 2026 starts triggers a rehash of the 2025 budget while the new bill is worked out.
The House initially estimated an October approval of the 2026 budget bill.
Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman has warned that a re-enacted budget would harm the economy and derail the Philippines’ transition to an upper middle-income country.
Deputy Speaker and Iloilo Rep. Janette L. Garin said legislators have committed to reviewing and approving the proposed 2026 budget during their congressional breaks to head off delays in passing the legislation.
“We have more than a month-long break from Oct. 10 to Nov. 11, and another extended break in December. Members of Congress have committed to spending their time so that the budget is not delayed,” she said at the briefing.
“It will not affect our economy because Congress will definitely submit it on time,” she added.
Returning the proposed budget to the DBM would allow for a faster review and revision than if the corrections were left to Congress, Mr. Puno said.
“They have a system for reviewing this thing,” he said.
The review of the proposed budget could result in the removal of billions of pesos in allocations, which Palawan Rep. Jose C. Alvarez said could improve the country’s fiscal position and reinforce public trust in government spending.
“If we’re able to return it and cut half a trillion from the budget, there’s nothing wrong with that,” he said at the briefing. “What matters most to Filipinos is that no one goes hungry.” — Kenneth Christiane L. Basilio